Following UFC on FX 2 debacle, Joseph Benavidez OK waiting for flyweight title

SYDNEY – Count Joseph Benavidez among those captivated by the scoring debacle at Friday’s UFC on FX 2 event.

After knocking out Yasuhiro Urushitani and advancing to the finals of the UFC’s inaugural flyweight tournament, Benavidez learned the other side of the tourney bracket was still unresolved.

But as much as Benavidez (16-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) wants to fight for the title and stake claim to the belt, he has no problem waiting for a rematch between Demetrious Johnson (14-2-1 MMA, 2-1-1 UFC) and Ian McCall (11-2-1 MMA, 0-0-1 UFC).

Just prior to Benavidez’s big FX-televised win at Sydney’s Allphones Arena, Johnson was declared a split-decision winner (28-29, 29-28 and 29-28) over McCall. The unpopular decision was met with a chorus of boos from fans, many of whom felt McCall’s dominant third round had won him the fight.

Soon after the bout and as Benavidez took to the cage for his, cageside officials informed the media the scores had been read incorrectly and that Johnson actually won it via majority decision (29-28, 29-29 and 29-28). But the biggest bombshell came at the post-event press conference, when an incredulous Dana White announced the fight was actually a majority draw. A contrite Craig Waller, the executive director of the Combat Sports Authority of New South Wales, said he incorrectly recorded one of the judge’s 10-8 rounds as 10-9, and he didn’t catch the mistake until after the fight was completed.

Like others, Benavidez learned of mistake at the post-fight press conference. Cameras caught a look of stunned disbelief as he sat on the dais.

UFC officials wanted to avoid this exact scenario, so they had contracted the tourney fight to include a sudden-victory fourth round to break any ties. However, the mistake was caught too late to have that overtime round take place at Friday’s card.

Instead of fighting the winner for the first-ever UFC flyweight championship, Benavidez now has to wait for the Johnson-McCall rematch, which could take place as soon as April or as late as the summer.

“When it ended, that’s what I thought. ‘That could be a draw. That could be a split.’ You just never know. It was a great, and it’s awesome they get to do it again. Because I think it was a draw.”

Benavidez scoffed at the notion of fighting any other flyweight for the belt. He’d rather wait for the rematch and keep the tournament intact rather than bring in another 125-pounder. So his focus remains on Johnson, a fellow ex-bantamweight title challenger, and McCall, the world’s current No. 1 flyweight and a former Tachi Palace Fights champion.

“I definitely, 100 percent want to wait for the title shot between these guys,” he said. “They picked the best four guys to compete in this tournament, and those are the two best guys. … I don’t see anyone else as deserving as them, so I’m happy to wait for them.

“I’m just excited to fight whoever comes out of that one because they’ll be the next best flyweight, and we’ll battle for that title.”

Johnson, who had a victory and title fight snatched from his hands, suggested he felt the most regret for Benavidez.

“It sucks honestly because I wanted things to move forward,” he said. “I just hate for Joseph to have sit out for however long.”

Regardless of the wait and Benavidez’s misfortune, White believes UFC on FX 2 still served its purpose: It showed the quality of the flyweight division, and it demonstrated why the tourney fighters deserved their spots.

“We had the four best 125-pounders in the world,” he said. “They proved it tonight. They burst onto the scene and hopefully shut everyone up.”

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